# 6.2. Adding Programs and Shortcut Icons to Your Panel

The KDE panel is not limited to the setup you find right after installing KDE. The KDE panel is designed to be extended, and there are two ways of doing that: Adding new programs, and adding shortcut icons.

## 6.2.1. Programs

To add your favorite programs to the KDE panel, you must use the KDE Menu Editor. To start it, use the application starter and choose Utilities > Menu Editor. A window containing an empty button will appear. To change it, click on it using the right mouse button and choose Change. Next, you should see another window with various options you can set. The Type dropdown box contains some types of links you can create. Choose Application. Now choose the Name field and enter the description that will appear in the Application starter. For example, you can type Netscape Communicator. Next, click on the large and the small picture using the left mouse button and select an icon for the application. In the Comment field you can optionally enter a remark about the application. Be sure to choose a helpful comment, because it will appear as tool-tip in the Application starter. For Netscape, you might enter `WWW-Browser with Mail and News software`.

If not already selected, choose the Execute tab and enter the Execute field. Here, you must type the complete path to your application, for example `/usr/local/netscape/netscape`. Set the Working Directory to a value that makes sense, such as `/usr/local/netscape`. If your application runs in a terminal, you must select Run In Terminal and specify the Terminal Options. The terminal options are the command-line switches of kvt; you can see them by using

     kvt --help

in a terminal window. After you have made all the adjustments needed, choose the Ok button and select File > Save from the main menu. Next, restart your panel by choosing Panel > Restart from the application starter. You should now find a new entry Personal with the new menu entries.

## 6.2.2. Shortcut Icons

Although KDE is much more comfortable than the average Unix window manager, everyone wants a solution for a one-click way to start a program. Later, you will learn how to create links and files on your desktop, but this also has some disadvantages: sometimes all your desktops are filled up with windows, and you cannot reach your icons without minimizing all the windows that cover them. For commonly used programs, you can minimize this problem and speed access by creating shortcut icons on the KDE panel.

To create a shortcut on the KDE panel, do the following:

1. Click on the application starter and choose Panel > Add application.

2. You will see the top level of the application starter again. Go through the menus to find the program for which you want to create the shortcut, such as "Home directory" or "kvt". Click on the program you want.

A new icon will appear on the KDE panel. Click on it, and the program will start . If you want to move the icon, click on it using the right mouse button and choose Move. Move the icon to the position you want and press the left mouse button. If you wish to remove the icon, click on it using the right mouse button and choose Remove.